Ian Allan Bookshops to close? (turns out it's just Cardiff closing)

[Trainfan344]

Will have to pop up to Manchester at some point then if this is true.

 

[g4mby]

I do get the feeling that since Mr Allan Senior let go of the reins, the whole group has really gone into a gradual decline.

Whilst this is indeed sad news, especially for those who will lose their jobs I do wonder whether this is a failure on the part of Ian Allan management.

As an ex-employee of the Ian Allan Group who was made redundant 10 years ago I can certainly agree with both of the above statements. When I was there I always felt that the car dealerships and the travel business were the centre of attention. Didn't I read somewhere that the magazines were sold off to help finance the travel business which once had a string of shops in the Berkshire area but now has just a handful of offices specialising in business travel?

Gradual decline? Yes, I think so.

 

[86206]

Always found the Birmingham Shop to be spot on, and staff fine too

 

[Busaholic]

As an ex-employee of the Ian Allan Group who was made redundant 10 years ago I can certainly agree with both of the above statements. When I was there I always felt that the car dealerships and the travel business were the centre of attention. Didn't I read somewhere that the magazines were sold off to help finance the travel business which once had a string of shops in the Berkshire area but now has just a handful of offices specialising in business travel?

Gradual decline? Yes, I think so.

By the time of the magazines being sold off it should have been plain as a pikestaff that travel agencies were going to be swallowed up by the internet, save perhaps for a handful of specialists dealing in travel for the super-rich. Ian Allan really is living in the past.

 

[Tubeboy]

The stores remind be of old fashioned sex shops - a lot of older guys furtively looking though the stock without actually buying anything, some dodgy video playing in the background (all of which seem to have the same commentator trying to sound enthusiastic about some shunting movement in the yard) and mainly bored female staff who wonder what these guys see in the stuff they sell.

That made me laugh. Sadly it's all true in my experience of the London Branch. The staff were not rude, but certainly far from friendly. Buying magazines as subscriptions, buying books and DVDs online, and the less than friendly approach caused me to stop going. Shame, I spent a fortune in there.

 

[the sniper]

I've always found the staff at the Birmingham store to be perfectly polite, I'll be sad to see the place go if this news is correct. I haven't been in there much over the last few years, but only because I've ran out of bookshelf space at home! I went in there last year just to browse but ended up buying, I also got a Christmas gift from there apparently.

Working near to the Birmingham store I've often observed it to be pretty 'busy', during the day there normally seems to be a handful of people in there. In the evening's there normally seems to be around 5 to 10 people in there on their way home from work. May well be that they're just browsing though...

I'll certainly be paying a few visits if it is to close, I'll just have to find somewhere to put any new books!

 

[yorksrob]

I have to say, as far as choice of stock is concerned, the Birmingham branch seems to be the best of the lot.

 

[Springs Branch]

By the time of the magazines being sold off it should have been plain as a pikestaff that travel agencies were going to be swallowed up by the internet, save perhaps for a handful of specialists dealing in travel for the super-rich. Ian Allan really is living in the past.

Some years ago I wrote a MBA thesis on business life-cycles - the gist being the Yorkshire mantra "rags to riches and back again in 3 generations".

Sounds like the Ian Allan business would have made a great Case Study for this.

 

[Greenback]

I'll miss the Cardiff store. It's spacious and comfortable in there. I always popped in when in Cardiff, and I bought something there 95% of the time. I don't get the same enjoyment from browsing online, and I was prepared to pay more for the enjoyment. I'm probably in a small minority in that though!

 

[Antman]

I have only ever used the one at Waterloo and the staff there often seem preoccupied with chatting to friends whilst paying customers get minimal attention. I wonder how much longer that shop will remain given that it's far easier to shop online nowadays.

 

[Greenback]

Presumably they see either see it as a flagship store worth retaining, or perhaps more likely, it turns a reasonable profit while the others don't. I don't know, though, it doesn't make much sense to me to keep one store while closing all the other ones down. But what do I know anyway?!

 

[Busaholic]

Presumably they see either see it as a flagship store worth retaining, or perhaps more likely, it turns a reasonable profit while the others don't. I don't know, though, it doesn't make much sense to me to keep one store while closing all the other ones down. But what do I know anyway?!

Could be a matter of leases - the Waterloo store might not readily find someone prepared to take on the lease and these days full business rates have to be paid on empty shops, so while Ian Allan continues in book publishing it might just be less costly to continue trading. Only a supposition, mind.

 

[Bishopstone]

Given transport bookshops are a rare species, a small amount of trade done by the closed stores may consolidate on London, improving its viability. After all, transport enthusiasts tend to travel around a bit. I've been to all the stores bar Cardiff.

Busaholic's comment about lease issues is relevant, but I wonder whether they may even have the freehold interest at Waterloo, and are awaiting a mega-bucks re-development. It's unlikely, but possible.

 

[yorksrob]

They could do with keeping one somewhere up north though.

 

[theblackwatch]

Please see https://twitter.com/IanAllanBooks/status/555045378425651200

Our bookshops in London, Manchester and Birmingham are NOT closing, contrary to some recent online posts!

 

[RichmondCommu]

Please see https://twitter.com/IanAllanBooks/status/555045378425651200

That's good news. I wonder who was responsible for the misinformation then.

 

[splashoutradio]

That's good news. I always make a point of buying my copy of the NRT from Ian Allan instead of the WHSmiths on MAN station.

 

[Busaholic]

Given transport bookshops are a rare species, a small amount of trade done by the closed stores may consolidate on London, improving its viability. After all, transport enthusiasts tend to travel around a bit. I've been to all the stores bar Cardiff.

Busaholic's comment about lease issues is relevant, but I wonder whether they may even have the freehold interest at Waterloo, and are awaiting a mega-bucks re-development. It's unlikely, but possible.

I believe the land in the Lower Marsh area used to be owned by the Church of England, probably part of the swathe that included Lambeth Palace. When the rail terminal for the Channel Tunnel project was being discussed and Waterloo was mooted, speculative property developers bought up a lot of land around Lower Marsh in the hope of making a killing should compulsory purchase orders be issued. In the event, the Eurostar platforms and terminal were constructed on the north side of the station, so no land was needed around Lower Marsh. Shops in the area have also suffered from the abolition of the GLC and the consequent exodus of workers from County Hall.

 

[StripeyNick]

Cardiff is closing due to the lease on the property being up. Given my experience working in Cardiff, it's probably not viable to renew it.

 

[sprinterguy]

Please see https://twitter.com/IanAllanBooks/status/555045378425651200

Having just seen this thread, I am exceedingly glad to see that closure is not the case. I quite often enjoy a browse in the Birmingham (or Manchester, depending which office I'm in) store during my lunch break at work, and will often purchase an undiscovered "gem" that I was not previously aware of in the realms of railway publishing: Not something that I tend to do through the online retailers, as I will only use them if I am already searching for something specific. I appreciate the convenience of being able to peruse an actual bookshop, and find the staff at the Birmingham branch of Ian Allan to be an incredibly friendly and helpful bunch of folks.

I thought it was odd to see rumours of closure when one of the staff was telling me that they had just put in their latest orders yesterday!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Apologies if there is an existing thread - I did a quick search but couldn't find anything. I've been advised from a reliable source that the majority of the Ian Allen bookstores are to be closed by the end of February 2015.

Can you have a quiet word with your "reliable source" and notify that source of the latest information from the Ian Allen organisation.

 

[Greenback]

I'll still be sad to see the Cardiff store go, whatever the reason. There's always been people in there when I've visited it, but whether the store is viable is debatable. I've never had to queue up to pay!

 

[Tubeboy]

Well if IA are aware of this thread, then maybe they can make the staff be a bit more friendly.

 

[Busaholic]

Well if IA are aware of this thread, then maybe they can make the staff be a bit more friendly.

I expect it was one of the staff who alerted management that some of the customers were expecting great bargains because of imminent closure. Said member of staff probably then demanded to know the truth behind the rumours. Hence the statement of clarification.

 

[Andyh82]

Good news that they aren't closing. I visit the Manchester one every time I go and often buy.

Online isn't all that when it comes to enthusiast books. Amazon doesn't stock everything in this sector, and if they do often don't have the discounts that are applied to mainstream books. The specialist online retailers don't offer free postage or even very cheap postage in many cases, which is taken for granted these days which puts off purchasing relatively cheap books if the postage is half the amount again.

Also with non fiction books, you need to browse first. I've purchased books based on title alone and been left disappointed as the book looks thrown together with poor quality photos and text that anyone with a basic interest in the subject could have written. Anything by Autobus Review is often a let down in my opinion. Also often there are many books on the same topic (The New Bus for London being a current one), and from title alone you can't tell which is best.

 

[Busaholic]

Good news that they aren't closing. I visit the Manchester one every time I go and often buy.

Online isn't all that when it comes to enthusiast books. Amazon doesn't stock everything in this sector, and if they do often don't have the discounts that are applied to mainstream books. The specialist online retailers don't offer free postage or even very cheap postage in many cases, which is taken for granted these days which puts off purchasing relatively cheap books if the postage is half the amount again.

Also with non fiction books, you need to browse first. I've purchased books based on title alone and been left disappointed as the book looks thrown together with poor quality photos and text that anyone with a basic interest in the subject could have written. Anything by Autobus Review is often a let down in my opinion. Also often there are many books on the same topic (The New Bus for London being a current one), and from title alone you can't tell which is best.

Many of the specialist transport publishers are not willing to offer the huge discounts that Amazon demand, hence Amazon don't stock them at all, or charge full price, or even charge more than full price.
Being able to see the books is a two-edged sword. Some books, as you say, disappoint in the flesh, but others can be a revelation, much better than the title or cover photo might suggest.
On specifics, I agree with you on Autobus Review, weirdly thrown together and usually overpriced.

 

[the sniper]

Well if IA are aware of this thread, then maybe they can make the staff be a bit more friendly.

And give praise to the staff in the Birmingham store, who seem to be the only people that have done well out of this thread.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

I hope IA management take note of the 'customer feedback' on this forum regarding the Manchester and London stores. Something is going on, however, regarding the Manchester store:-

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/17622-gateway-house-aparthotel-to-get-go-ahead.html

The building currently functions mainly as a retail parade on the way to the train station, with 16 retail units at ground level.
The application also requested changes of use for the retail units to accommodate a mix of restaurants, a takeaway, offices and a bar.

 

[theblackwatch]

I think to redress the balance, I should point out that, having purchased a book at the Manchester store a couple of years ago, later that day I popped in to the Stalybridge Buffet Bar for a drink, where I was approached by the member of staff who had served me in the Ian Allan shop earlier that day, who was al;so having a drink on his way home. He even remembered what I had bought!

 

[edwin_m]

I hope IA management take note of the 'customer feedback' on this forum regarding the Manchester and London stores. Something is going on, however, regarding the Manchester store:-

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/17622-gateway-house-aparthotel-to-get-go-ahead.html

As I posted on another thread recently, it's high time something was done about this building and the very similar Macdonald Hotel nearby shows what could be done. However I don't think all the retail units will be going, as Waitrose opened there only a few weeks ago. Several of them are (or were until recently) already cafes or takeaways!

Still I suppose the people who run Piccadilly have decided it has to have more places selling coffee. Perhaps to match the upstart at Nottingham which now has seven within the station and at least five more within 2min walk.